Elie Saab Draws on East Asian Style at Paris Couture Week AW19

The Lebanese fashion designer headed to Palais de Tokyo with his Couture show for AW19, and it delivered a collection that drew on Chinese and East Asian symbolism and culture.

See more of Elie Saab's AW19 Haute Couture collection

For his Autumn/Winter 2019 collection, Elie Saab picked out the Palais de Tokyo – a modern art gallery that defines itself as anti-museum – to present a new twist on ancient styles and symbols from East Asian and Chinese culture.

Elie Saab AW19

Elie Saab explained that a wealth of inspiration was found in the drawings, symbols and stories that have been passed on from generation to generation over time.

Taking on traditional shapes such as the kimono gown, wide sleeves, waist shaping detail and haori jackets, Saab added his own flair with heavy embellishment, silk fabrics and a touch of sheer glamour.

Elie Saab AW19

Shades of midnight black and cherry red rules the looks to begin the show, while aubergines tones were teamed with murky silvers and hues of blue ranged from baby blue to sapphire.

As well as reworking traditional East Asian clothing cuts, the designer worked its inspiration onto feminine ball gowns that didn’t hold back on any the embellishment detail. Belt-like detail feature across many of the looks, too.